Spam-Filtered Emails Lead to Temporary Licence Suspensions for 20 Surrey Teachers, Union Says

Twenty teachers in Surrey were temporarily removed from classrooms this week after their teaching certificates were suspended due to incomplete criminal record check updates.

According to the Surrey Teachers’ Association (STA), the educators missed critical email notifications because the messages were diverted to spam folders.

STA president Amrit Sanghe described the situation as significant, noting the number of affected teachers is equivalent to the staffing of a small to medium-sized elementary school.

“It’s definitely the size of a small to medium elementary school worth of teachers,” Sanghe said.

Mandatory five-year checks

Under B.C.’s Criminal Record Review Act, teachers are required to undergo a criminal record check every five years.

The Ministry of Education and Child Care says it can initiate the background check process on behalf of teachers. However, in some cases, educators must provide additional documentation — including fingerprints — to complete the review.

Sanghe says it was these follow-up requests for additional information that were sent to spam folders and went unnoticed.

Once the Criminal Records Review Program requests further documentation, teachers have 90 days to respond. Failure to provide the required information within that timeframe results in automatic suspension of their teaching certificate.

Union criticism

Sanghe argues the ministry was aware that some communications were being filtered into spam folders and should have implemented additional safeguards.

“The frustrating part is that it seemed like the ministry knew that this communication was going to be routed into spam folders,” she said.

She suggested alternative communication methods — such as mailed notices or coordination with local school districts — could have prevented teachers from being removed from classrooms.

“They could have sent additional communication via mail, or coordinated with districts to ensure this did not happen,” Sanghe said.

The teachers who were suspended were not paid for the missed workday, according to the union.

Ministry response

In a statement, the Ministry of Education and Child Care said there are currently 160 teaching certificates suspended across B.C. for failure to complete required criminal record checks.

“Before suspending a certificate, the Teacher Regulation Branch makes multiple attempts to contact affected teachers using the contact information they have provided,” the ministry said.

It added that the Criminal Records Review Program may contact teachers directly by email or mail when additional information is required.

While acknowledging that emails can sometimes be routed to spam folders, the ministry said it “does not control email service algorithms.”

Most teachers reinstated

By Thursday, 15 of the 20 affected Surrey teachers had returned to their classrooms after resolving the documentation issue. The union said it was awaiting updates regarding the remaining five.

Sanghe said the disruption could have been avoided.

“They should have been putting some plans in place to ensure that teachers remained where they belong — in front of their students,” she said.

The incident highlights the administrative pressures surrounding mandatory compliance requirements and the broader impact such technical lapses can have on schools already managing staffing challenges.